Provides a performance and discharge of duty presumption for any condition of impairment of health caused by leptospirosis, resulting in total or partial disability or death to a paid member of the uniformed force of a paid sanitation department, where such paid member is drawn from competitive civil service lists, who successfully passed a physical examination on entry into the service of such department, which examination failed to reveal any evidence of such condition.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4824--A
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 13, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sen. JACKSON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government --
committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation to disabilities
of members of the uniformed force of sanitation departments in certain
cities
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The general municipal law is amended by adding a new
2 section 207-aa to read as follows:
3 § 207-aa. Disabilities of members of the uniformed force of sanitation
4 departments in certain cities. Notwithstanding the provisions of any
5 general, special or local law or administrative code to the contrary,
6 but except for the purposes of the workers' compensation law and the
7 labor law, any condition of impairment of health caused by leptospiro-
8 sis, resulting in total or partial disability or death to a paid member
9 of the uniformed force of a paid sanitation department, where such paid
10 member is drawn from competitive civil service lists, who successfully
11 passed a physical examination on entry into the service of such depart-
12 ment, which examination failed to reveal any evidence of such condition,
13 shall be presumptive evidence that it was incurred in the performance
14 and discharge of duty, unless the contrary be proved by competent
15 evidence.
16 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
SUMMARY: The proposed legislation would provide Sanitation members of
the New York City Employees' Retirement System (NYCERS) a rebuttable
statutory presumption that a qualifying partial or total disability or
death related to leptospirosis was incurred in the performance of duty.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04231-02-5
S. 4824--A 2
ILLUSTRATION - INCREASE (DECREASE) IN EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS
by Fiscal Year for the first 25 years ($ in Thousands)
One Incident One Incident Per Year
Year Disability Death Disability Death
2026 51 215 51 215
2027 51 215 104 437
2028 51 215 159 666
2029 51 215 215 901
2030 51 215 272 1,143
2031 51 215 332 1,393
2032 51 215 393 1,650
2033 51 215 456 1,915
2034 51 215 521 2,188
2035 51 215 588 2,469
2036 51 215 657 2,758
2037 51 215 728 3,056
2038 51 215 801 3,363
2039 51 215 876 3,680
2040 0 0 903 3,790
2041 0 0 930 3,904
2042 0 0 958 4,021
2043 0 0 986 4,142
2044 0 0 1,016 4,266
2045 0 0 1,046 4,394
2046 0 0 1,078 4,526
2047 0 0 1,110 4,661
2048 0 0 1,143 4,801
2049 0 0 1,178 4,945
2050 0 0 1,213 5,094
Employer contribution impact beyond Fiscal Year 2050 is not shown.
The potential increases in employer contributions will be allocated to
New York City.
PRESENT VALUE OF BENEFITS: The Present Value of Benefits is the
discounted expected value of benefits paid to current members if all
assumptions are met, including future service accrual and pay increases.
Future new hires are not included in this present value.
INITIAL INCREASE (DECREASE) IN ACTUARIAL PRESENT VALUES
as of June 30, 2024 ($ in Thousands)
Present Value (PV) Per Disability Per Death
(1) PV of Employer Contributions: 434 1,821
(2) PV of Employee Contributions: (17) 0
Total PV of Benefits (1) + (2): 417 1,821
UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY (UAL): Actuarial Accrued Liabilities are
the portion of the Present Value of Benefits allocated to past service.
Changes in UAL per incident would be recognized as ongoing gain/loss.
AMORTIZATION OF UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY
Recognized as Ongoing Gain/Loss Per Disability Per Death
Increase (Decrease) in UAL: 434 K 1,821 K
S. 4824--A 3
Number of Payments: 14 14
Amortization Payment: 51 K 215 K
CENSUS DATA: The number of members who will benefit in the future from
this proposed legislation is unknown. The estimates presented herein are
based on preliminary census data collected as of June 30, 2024. The
census data for the potentially impacted population used to develop the
average costs is summarized below.
NYCERS
Active Members
- Number Count: 8,018
- Average Age: 43.2
- Average Service: 11.1
- Average Salary: 107,800
IMPACT ON MEMBER BENEFITS: Currently, a NYCERS Sanitation member who
becomes disabled due to leptospirosis would be eligible for an applica-
ble ordinary disability retirement benefit, generally a lifetime payment
of 1/3 of salary. The ordinary death benefit is a lump sum payment
generally equal to three times the member's salary.
Under the proposed legislation, the performance of duty disability
benefit for NYCERS Sanitation members who are disabled from leptospiro-
sis would generally be equal to 75% of Final Average Salary.
Under the proposed legislation, the performance of duty death benefit
would generally be equal to a lifetime benefit of 50% of a member's
wages earned during their last year of service, plus, if applicable, the
Special Accidental Death Benefit (SADB) payable under General Municipal
Law section 208-f.
ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The estimates presented herein have been
calculated based on the Revised 2021 Actuarial Assumptions and Methods
of the impacted retirement systems.
The number of members who will benefit from the proposed legislation
is unknown. The cost of this proposed legislation could vary greatly
depending on the number of future members who benefit and on their
length of service, age, and salary history. In particular, the increase
would be greater for a member who is not yet eligible for an Ordinary
Disability Retirement benefit when disabled.
The estimated financial impact for disabled members has been calcu-
lated assuming 50% would have retired under the current ordinary disa-
bility benefit, and 50% would have continued working if the proposed
legislation were not passed.
RISK AND UNCERTAINTY: The costs presented in this Fiscal Note depend
highly on the actuarial assumptions, methods, and models used, demo-
graphics of the impacted population, and other factors such as invest-
ment, contribution, and other risks. If actual experience deviates from
actuarial assumptions, the actual costs could differ from those
presented herein. Quantifying these risks is beyond the scope of this
Fiscal Note.
This Fiscal Note is intended to measure pension-related impacts and
does not include other potential costs (e.g., administrative and Other
Postemployment Benefits). This Fiscal Note does not reflect any chapter
laws that may have been enacted during the current legislative session.
STATEMENT OF ACTUARIAL OPINION: Marek Tyszkiewicz and Gregory Zelikov-
sky are members of the Society of Actuaries and the American Academy of
Actuaries. We are members of NYCERS, but do not believe it impairs our
S. 4824--A 4
objectivity, and we meet the Qualification Standards of the American
Academy of Actuaries to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
To the best of our knowledge, the results contained herein have been
prepared in accordance with generally accepted actuarial principles and
procedures and with the Actuarial Standards of Practice issued by the
Actuarial Standards Board.
FISCAL NOTE IDENTIFICATION: This Fiscal Note 2025-17 dated February
19, 2025 was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City Retire-
ment Systems and Pension Funds and is intended for use only during the
2025 Legislative Session.
